Mason-Dixon poll: Senate race tightens in crucial I-4 corridor

The Democrat leads
Republican rival Connie Mack by only three points, 47 percent to 44
percent, in Florida’s bellwether I-4 corridor, according to a new Tampa
Bay Times/Bay News 9 poll.

Mack — who is within the poll’s margin
of error — is gaining on the strength of Mitt Romney in Florida, the
unpopularity of President Barack Obama’s policies and Nelson’s struggles
to close the deal despite decades in public office.

But it may not be enough for Mack, said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon
Polling & Research, which conducted the poll. "At the end of the
day, if Nelson hangs on, I think it’s going to be more about Mack losing
it than Nelson winning," Coker said.

The I-4 corridor runs from
Tampa Bay through Central Florida and is heavily concentrated with swing
voters. Thus, it’s a good measure of how the statewide vote might go.
Nelson, who lives in Orlando, is losing by 1 percentage point in Central
Florida, which tends to lean more Republican than Tampa Bay, where
Nelson has a 7 point advantage.